Kōri
by Ladyhawk-s
Summary: Majima Goro is part of a notorious group of thieves but his and his sworn brother's life are tied to the leader of the gang, Sagawa and money is what they need to escape his clutches. So when Majima is given a quest that could free themselves, he immediately takes it. However, what he doesn't realize is that there's more blocks in his road than he thought aka. a princess
1. The Quest

_**hello wow idk what im doing here tbh**_

_**so today is my birthday (yay, woo) and i thought it would be fun to post the first chapter of this fic because it's been sitting in my drafts mocking me. i do already have the second chapter written and large bits of the other chapters written already so its about getting the motivation to do it. so heck if yall like this, pls let me know so i can have that confident boost to finish.**_

_**anywho, this first chapter is pretty short. don't be alarmed, i already have 10k+ written somewhere else, i just need to get through all the non Majimako parts because tbh, im a slut for them and writing stuff that only includes one of them doesn't sit well. so take this for now. if all goes well, i should be updating this fic every 2-3 weeks, depends on stuff. if i don't then i gotta bunch of other fics for majimako so youll get some form of content.**_

_**hellaaa**_

When Goro Majima was a kid, there were so many things he wanted to do when he grew up. Something that always got mentioned was the expressive way he showed his emotions so he thought that being an actor would be a good fit. He could sing too so it was a perfect combination. And if that didn't work, then he was really good at selling things. Like really good. Sometimes his mom sent him out to sell a few goods they grew in the farm so persuasion and white lies are what got him home empty handed with a bag of coins to show his efforts. And if that didn't work, then a bartender would have been just fine. Goro had superb customer service and knew what drinks mixed well with each other. He could produce the most dangerous alcoholic drink that tasted like the finest of sodas or he could really bring out the deep throated kicks that certain whiskeys produced.

Goro had a lot of talents under his belt that could have led him to have a simple life with an honest income and maybe even a family of his own.

Too bad life wasn't nice like that.

With a hyperactive mind and parents that wished his death than his future, he had to find a new family out in the world. A family that would support him and give him a place to find shelter, regardless of whatever roof that might have been.

And that's what he did. At the ripe age of 16, Goro joined a family under the umbrella Pearl Clan. The clan separated into different factions all over the land and he landed in one closest to the main city of his homeland. They were a group of thieves that operated on stealth and force, though not always in the same moment. Each man had scars and discolored skin that they wore with pride, showing others that they can handle any shit thrown their way. Goro had his own that he gained over the years and he too joined in on the pride fest. Though, there was one that he kept under an eyepatch. People asked questions over and over again about it but all he would ever say is that it was a consequence of messing with the shadows.

Yet, despite the potential mishap that kept him with only one eye, Goro was a master of shadows. Magic spread all around the people in their land and he was gifted the power of slinking in the dark, warping his surroundings around to his figure. He danced with the shadows and carved them in his image. They moved to his command and no one would ever be able to trace back his steps. It happened to be more stealthy than based on pure strength but Goro did have legs that could swing around with such fury that wind would snap.

Which is why he sat face to face with his leader, Tsukasa Sagawa. God did Goro hate his guts. Ever since he saved his ass from the clutches of prison and dumb mistakes, he's put a tab on his head and won't let Goro go until it's met. So far, he managed to get a chunk of it done but unless he came up with the cash up front, there was no way out alive.

So Goro had to give his services to this piss drinking shit stain in front of him. He bit his tongue, waiting for Sagawa to speak.

"Yo, Goro," he started, taking a sip of his drink before settling it down once more.

Goro crossed his arms in a silent way of saying What do you want old man?

Sagawa grinned at his attitude, clearly finding it amusing how much Goro mentally tried to fight back when he was around. Fuck, did he have squeeze his ass cheeks tight before they jumped on his boss' ass. "Jeez, you're always a ray of sunshine. Lightin' up a bit! Life is too short to always have a nasty look on your face."

"Easy for you to say when yer the one who put a price on my head."

"Well, now, who's fault is that Goro?" He gave a scowl and Sagawa chuckled back. "Help doesn't come free, ya know? If anything, I did ya a pretty big solid."

Goro breathed in deeply. "What do ya want? I'm pretty fuckin' busy."

"Oh, well, hopefully you got some time for me," Sagawa played along, knowing damn well on that smug face of his that Goro could never push away a mission from him. His boss reached a hand into his over sized coat and pulled out a map to slide it over to Goro. Taking it into his hands, he could see that it showed a kingdom view an overview look. There weren't any road indicators but he could see how the valley changed into the different towns. Bodies of water were labeled around as well. It wasn't the most direct map he came across but it would have been enough for him to get around. "Ya see that little island thing off to the side?" Goro's eye moved to that location and sure enough there was a little crudely drawn circle that looked to be disconnected from land but also close enough that it wasn't it own island. He responded with a nod. "Now, no one has ever really been there before since it's known to be kinda a dangerous place so I can't confirm the details too much but," Sagawa leaned forward to keep wandering ears from picking up what he was going to say next. "Rumor has it that there's a castle over there and inside is this stone that's worth more than this whole town."

Goro didn't want to be interested but that did sound tempting. He gave a cough to hide the interest resting on his face. "What kind of stone are we talking about?"

"Well, there's a bunch of guesses but my guess is that it's an ancient jewel that got passed down generations. But no one has seen it first hand. At least, none of my sources have."

Now something seemed a bit off. "How come no one's seen this before?" This time, it was Goro's turn to lean forward and his eye squinted. "What's the catch?"

Sagawa didn't respond right away and left a shit eating grin that Goro wanted to slap off his face. His eyes shifted around until he rested back towards Goro. "Let's just say that there might be a little friend that guards that place."

"What kind of little friend?"

"Again, I can't really confirm but some of the locals have said that they've been feeling cold temperatures around there. And not normal winter kinds but more of what could come from an ice creature."

"So you're saying that there's an ice dragon roamin' around, guardin' the place?"

"Sounds like it."

Fuck, Goro should have saw it coming. Nothing was fucking easy with this guy. There had to have been a catch in there to make his life difficult. Depending on who you spoke to (and this applied to Goro), some people said that dragons were the most vile and degenerate kind of species out there yet they were a force not to be reckoned with. His missing eye confirmed that fact and now his boss, knowing all that full well, wanted to pit him into that. What a fucking asshole. "And you think Imma say yes to this easily? Ya must have really lost your mind."

"You might say yes if you knew how much the jewel could pay off your debt."

….Oh he went there. Fuck , he went there. "Enlighten me."

Sagawa turned his head to the side, moving their attention towards a big, burly man speaking with others against the wall. Jokes went around them and his laugh boomed out the most. The voice belonged to Goro's oath brother, Taiga Saejima.

Before all of this, Taiga was more stone faced with only tears of sadness popping through in emotion. A long time ago, Taiga got himself into enough deep shit that not only costed them a fuck ton of debt with the piss drinker but also memories that plagued him in his sleep at night. Goro tried all sorts of ways to make his friend feel better, tried to help him fall asleep, tried to erase the horrible nightmares that repeated in his mind. But nothing worked, leaving Goro to do the only thing he could do to help: repay Taiga's debt and make him free. In the couple of years they've been doing the jobs, he noticed Taiga got better and started actually laughing with others in a temporary distraction but Goro knew better. Taiga had strong aspirations to make a change in the world, to become a teacher for the youth. And he was a damn good teacher at that. Sometimes Goro needed help with the mathematics of certain routes and Taiga was the first one to assist and he actually did it in a way that made Goro understand in that tiny brain of his.

Taiga deserved more than what he was getting right now.

"I can't be totally sure until I get it in my hands but…..well, let's just say it might be enough to let one of ya go."

Fuck. Fuck. FUCK.

Piss drinker striked again.

"...Alright. I'll do it."

Sagawa gave a shit eating grin. "Glad to be workin' with ya again."


	2. The Preparation

**_would yall believe that i almost forgot to post this up? damn son, i love christmas and the holidays but this year, im messed up with how much im working. everywhere is like "yea, we'll accommodate for the holidays" and disney is like "we will accommodate...FOR OUR GUESTS HAAH" which means us workers are screwed. ah well, still love my job even though im dying. ive also been working on my ykz ss as well as two other Christmas fics for yakuza in between my breaks so 8) this fic will probably be not much looked at until christmas is over he ck heck. _**

**_anyways, here's a new chapter, next update will be in three weeks. don't expect makoto to come for a while, she got some time _**

**_also heavy note: i have not played any yakuza game where saejima shows up. i know, ultra sin. im waiting until i get my grubby hands on that remastered collection so if youre like "wtf this ain't saejima" then like shush your mouth cuz i ain't there yet. next time he fully appears again, i will have played it so yall better watch yoselves_**

_Let's just say it might be enough to let one of ya go. _

_Might be enough to let one of ya go. _

_Let one of ya go. _

Sagawa's words looped in Goro's mind as he packed his bag for the trip. He figured it was going to be a long one so it was even more necessary to carry tools that would carry on survival for a long period of time. If what Sagawa said was true, then nature wasn't going to be on his side. Ice might have symbolism of purity but it was actually treacherous. Snow burns through living matter and sucks all form of life from existing. One minute it seems fun and playful but in the next, if not prepared then it could wreck havoc on everything. Goro learned that the hard way through other missions in the past and they were nowhere near the level of this one he was about to embark on.

All he could think was that the jewel better be worth all of this.

Goro kept on packing and stuffing as many things as he could. Knives, gauze, gloves, a stash of coins, anything he could possibly need on his journey. The only thing missing was warm clothes that didn't exist in his closet so he had to make due with stacking of multiple layers.

His mind concentrated so much that he didn't hear the door opening behind him. A hand pressed against his shoulder and he gave out a surprised jolt, almost grabbing a sheathed knife until he saw who it belonged to. "Fuckin' Christ, Taiga. Could be a bit more sensitive ya know?"

"Then that means you should keep your guard up more," he responded bluntly. His body leaned over to look at Goro's handiwork. "What are you doing there?"

"Clearly packin' for the greatest adventure ever," Goro said with a grin despite it being the complete opposite. Oh what he would do not to worry others. "I got all this stuff prepared. I'm plannin' for the long run here!"

"Where are you going?" Taiga asked with an emotionless tone that Goro couldn't tell if it was upset or curious.

"Ah, piss-for-brains-"

"Sagawa."

"Alright, fuckin' fine, yes Sagawa, that bitch, well, he's sending me off to a place where Imma be kicking major ass and getting lots of good shit."

"You didn't answer my question," Taiga retorted, again still with the same tone.

"Well because I don't even fuckin' know where I'm supposed to go," Goro said in irritation, pulling out the map Sagawa gave him and handing it over to Taiga. "I mean, look at that map! It's doesn't say shit!"

His brother stood silent while his eyes darted across the paper. He didn't say anything and something on his face made Goro look uneasy. "What did Sagawa tell you about this?"

Goro's eye looked up, trying to think of the best answer that wouldn't exactly teeter on a lie but wouldn't be the full truth either. "He just said it's gonna be cold and that I gotta be prepared for that is all."

"Did he mention anything about there being a dragon?"

_Oh shit. _"Well-"

"Did he mention anything about a dragon, Goro?"

Taiga gave him _the _stern look, the one where Goro knew he was doing something wrong and he was about to get _the _kick in the ass for not being cautious for the billionth time. "I mean, he didn't really _say _anything-" Oh shit, Taiga did the head lean with the eyebrow up. "But he beat around the bush enough that I managed to guess there was a dragon and- Ey, ey, ey, what's with that look?"

His brother gave a sigh before giving Goro a concerned look. "Goro, this place is dangerous. What are you thinking?"

_Well, I was thinkin' that it'll make ya free so I can stop feelin' like a guilty little shit_ was what he thought but was most definitely NOT going to say out loud before Taiga got all preachy on his ass. So he had to fudge it like always. "Well I was thinkin' that there's supposed to be a lotta cash on the line-"

"Goro-"

"And that daddy needs a new pair of knives before I get set free. See, pretty smart plan."

Taiga sighed and deeply sighed again. And sighed once more. "You know, money isn't everything."

Goro raised an eyebrow. "Uh, have you looked at our situation recently?" He asked in disbelief. His arms raised up to give notice to their surroundings. "This shit ain't ours. We're literally tied to a pole like dogs while Sagawa bleeds us dry and throws us scraps. And we can't do anythin' until we throw enough money at him! So tell me again how money isn't everything!?"

Taiga looked away and guilt pierced Goro. "Listen, Imma be real, I'm really frustrated-"

"No, no, I understand," his brother said softly, though he might as well have been screaming it since it echoed in Goro's ears. "I know you don't like to be chained down. But, _this,_" he grabbed the map and wrung it in front of Goro. "This is a suicide mission. And the last thing I need is for my brother to wind up dead too." His voice lowered with sadness piercing each word. "I can't lose another family member, especially not from a dragon. You already had bad luck with a dragon before. Who knows if that luck will only get worse."

Silence suffocated them. Tension built up and up, making it hard to breath in the already small room. Goro didn't know what to say to that. He knew that going into the middle of nowhere with an antagonistic dragon wasn't the smartest plan and probably one that would equal in suicide. It didn't help that his eye showed his losing streak with dragons. But at the same time, if he could try and set Taiga free…..well then that dragon could have his life for all he cared. He'd rather go down a righteous man than live with the guilt that he had a chance and didn't take it.

So he placed his hands on Taiga's giant shoulders and smiled reassuringly. "Imma be alright, bro. Ya know me, ya know I won't go down easy. So take it easy and just trust me," he lied through his teeth before giving him a pat on the back to return back to packing. They stayed quiet for a while, though Goro could feel Taiga's eyes laser into his back, which was enough to make him squirm. Yet, there was something about this that seemed off to him. "Ey, why are ya so hellbent on this anyways? Do ya know somethin' bout this that yer not tellin' me?"

"The only thing that I know is that people I've talked to who brought this adventure up never came back. Some it's been a few weeks and others it's been a couple months."

Goro's eyebrows raised up with a widening eye. "All of them were tryin' to get the jewel?"

His shoulders shrugged. "That I don't know. But one thing I did recall them talking about was the dragon that was there. It seems like that dragon is more of a topic than the jewel itself."

"Interestin'..." Goro whispered. Interesting indeed. Sagawa didn't mention the importance of the dragon, just brought it up as an obstacle. Maybe...maybe there was something special about that dragon that could double the reward. "What's so special bout that dragon? She a princess or somethin'?"

Saejima shrugged. "I heard kinda a mix of things but nothing too set. But that castle belongs to a royal family so maybe that dragon is worth a lot if you keep it hostage? Again, all I know is that it's a dangerous place to go."

"Hmmmm….."

Goro didn't speak as he kept packing his bag. Thoughts whirled around his mind on this mission. If he could get the jewel _and _the dragon, maybe there was a chance he could free both their heads. And if it's true that a royal family owned that castle, then he could lift that higher in demands. Oh ho ho, he could scheme like no tomorrow. So many possibilities.

Suddenly, this whole job didn't seem as shitty as before.

"Are you sure you want to go alone?" Taiga said, cracking the high spell Goro was in. "I could come with you if you want. Maybe it wouldn't be bad to have extra hands."

"I think that's the opposite, ya big lug," Goro retorted, twirling on his heel back to face him. "Dragons need stealth and yer the least stealthy guy I've ever seen."

"Yea but there's also strength in numbers."

"Taiga, bro, I got this," he casually said, walking around him in a new age swagger that he gained. "We're gonna make it big my dude. Ya just gotta trust me. Plus someone's gotta stay back and hold down the fort. Who knows, maybe there's a job you can do."

His brother looked thoughtful. "Well, some guys were wanting to do this collection's job. I didn't wanna do it because it seemed like a raid but maybe it wouldn't be bad."

"Atta boy! That's the spirit!" Goro pranced back to his bag. "Now if ya excuse me, I gotta get back to packin'!"

Taiga gave a grunt and left Goro in the room alone. Grinding echoed in but it didn't bother Goro as much as it used to. He wasn't a fan of the drink Taiga was making but he wasn't going to complain. After tonight they wouldn't be seeing each other for a while. One night could be an exception.

And just like clockwork, Taiga came in with two cups of steaming liquid. "Just thought I'd make blackened coco for tonight," he said while offering the cup to his brother. With the other, they clinked glasses and gave a hearty drink with a satisfied sigh at the end.

"Thanks," Goro softly responded, turning away from his brother while still holding the cup. This sentimental crap before a mission always got him. It really shouldn't have meant anything since they managed to come back to each other but it was their goodbye lucky ritual so that way, in case anything happened, there wouldn't be heavy regrets. They both fucking hated it. They kept mentioning how shitty it was. But they did it anyways. Traditions, man.

And then, a heavy clothed piece flopped onto his shoulders. His hand pulled it to where it could meet his peripheral and he gave a breathed laugh. "Ya don't have to, ya know?"

"I know but I think yer gonna need it more than me."

Goro glanced over his shoulder. "Wow, look at ya droppin' that fancy accent and goin' back to yer roots."

Taiga scoffed. "Look who's talkin' with yer make believe accent. At least I try and sound proper but ya just threw that out."

"What can I say?" Goro teased before properly putting on the jacket that Taiga placed on his shoulders and returning back to his brother, his cup raised. "I found my home somewhere else. Somewhere with semi good company."

"Ya got that right," Taiga laughed. Their cups clinked and they gave another hearty swing of their drink. Gulps happened between them and they stopped at the same time, giving a look that was sappy but theirs. "Be careful out there, Goro. Make sure ya come back in one piece at least. If not, then I gotta sell all yer shit."

"Hmph, well, I can't have ya doin' that, now can I?"

"Exactly. I know Sagawa would like some of that stuff ya got goin' on."

"See now yer just makin' me roll in my imaginary grave."

"Well let that thought ruminate in yer head while yer out there," Taiga lastly said as he headed out of the room. He stopped for a moment at the door frame. "Night, Goro. See ya later."

Goro grabbed the ends of the jacket and pulled it over, an awkward tick he had in situations like this. "Night, bro."

Taiga gave one last nod and walked into the other room, leaving Goro there with an over sized jacket and a mostly packed bag, ready to start his journey into the unknown.


	3. The Lead

**_binches, this is the third chapter, i can't believe. im shooketh. yet, there's still no makoto makimura yet. sowwy about that but i promise she shows up. i p r e. just give her some time, she'll be on her merry way over to yall soon. plus, i want to make sure that i properly flesh things out first and would rather have shorter chapters that flow better than have long chapters that don't go anywhere. me no like that. anyways, enjoy this chapter of kori. 3_**

"An ice castle? Well sweet Jesus doesn't that sound like a dream! It's so hot here, my sweat is sweating!"

"Listen man, I don't use euphemisms. If it's your way trying to get some drugs, I ain't your guy. Now the guy across the way…."

"I hear that if you don't bring a sacrifice to the castle, the dragon will use it's laser eyes to get you to your bones then it'll make them ice picks to then eat like a popsicle!"

When Goro took on this mission from piss brain, he didn't expect everyone else on this journey to also have brains made out of piss. No matter how many times he mentioned that he was looking for a castle with a deadly ice dragon, they would just look at him like he was filled with crazy. Not even shoving his finger down on a map helped with understanding.

So he just kept moving. After all, there's only one way he could go.

Time soon left all meaning for him. Only the mere seconds of the present carried weight. He couldn't focus on the intricate sights that passed as he went from city to city. There was a job to do and he couldn't waste anything in his arsenal. Maybe one day, when Taiga was finally free, he could write letters to Goro and show pictures of everything he was seeing now. But that day wouldn't come unless he got to work.

Plus, he really had to enjoy the comforts of the shadows more than usual. While he brought a sack of coins with him, this was a longer journey than any of the other missions he was sent out to do. He had to be resourceful and tactful. Through the darkness, he managed to steal some fruits and bread delicacies from local food vendors that propped themselves up on the streets. By no means were they a gourmet meal but they satisfied Goro enough to keep moving.

Frustration from lack of information kept building up in his stomach as he went from town to town. No one seemed to know about this iced prison or a jewel or even a monstrous dragon. Until he reached a bar miles away.

Entering in, Goro automatically felt at home. It was dark and shabby with the only light coming from candles set on the table. There were all sorts of people, ranging from fully cloaked slim men to burly men that wore tattoo sleeves but none made a sound. Cigarette smoke clouded the air inside the bar, creating even more of a mysterious glow in the bar. Caution blurred in each inch.

Slowly, he walked over to the counter, his eye wandering to the patrons. While they didn't move, he could see their eyes following him. Watching him let his guard down and boring holes into his back as he sat down at the stool. "An umeshu please," Goro ordered cautiously, muscles stiff while his eye flickered from the bartender to the others.

The bartender wore dark sunglasses indoors but he nodded his head before turning away to make the drink. His movements were slow yet precise. Careful yet knowledgeable. Goro didn't like that.

"There you are sir," he said, sliding over the drink to Goro. A calculated slide as well.

"Thanks…." Goro muttered under his breath, still watching the bartender in the peripheral in his eye. Unlike other bars, something felt off but it wasn't a bad off. Rather, it was one that he could possibly profit from. "Um," he called out to the bartender. He flickered his eyes up to Goro. "Can I ask ya somethin'?"

"Depends on what it is."

Goro swished his head a bit to check his surroundings. Ears still prickled up. "Have ya heard anythin' about a castle encased in ice?"

Suddenly, the bar became quiet. All eyes turned to Goro, watching his every muscle move. The silence began to suffocate him further. His hand gripped the handle of his knife, ready to pounce-

"You don't have to worry about that," someone said next to him. Goro turned to the source and saw a middle aged man in a tan trench coat sitting at the bar table. Yet, unlike most men who wore those kinds of coats, he didn't look dangerous or anything of the sort. His hair was dark but casually slick back, contrasted to Goro's tight ponytail. He looked warm and friendly, completely different to the patrons here who were friends with darkness. "They may look scary but they're not going to hurt you."

"Who are ya?" Goro asked, his eyebrows furrowing in concern.

The strange man gave a friendly smile. "I'm Makoto Date." He reached into his pocket and pulled out an officer badge. "I'm an officer around these parts but maybe I'm not the best kind since I hang around areas like this." Officer Date put the badge back in his pocket, still giving that look that made Goro squirm with how unsettling it was. "What's your name? I haven't seen you before. Are you a traveler?"

Goro squinted his eye. "What's it to ya? How do I know yer not gonna rat me out?"

The officer laughed. "Trust me, if I wanted to do that, you wouldn't even be in this bar. I'm only here to help." Date leaned onto the bar, moving his waist to be more forward towards Goro. "So, you mentioned an ice castle?" He only got a glare in return. "I'm going to take that as a yes," Date snickered, grabbing the drink that the bartender slid by him. "Pretty dangerous thing to be going after. Is there a reason you'd wanna risk going all the way there?"

Goro continued to stay silent, analyzing the guy and his intentions for this sudden interest in his trip. On one hand, he had to stay stealthy and a guy, let alone an officer, kept protruding into his business that needed to be kept under wraps. He couldn't afford having this trip wasted. For Taiga's sake. On the other hand though….he didn't have any leads except a poorly drawn map and the guy didn't seem that bad. He knew what Goro was referring to. Maybe it wouldn't hurt to beat around the bush with him. As long as he was careful….maybe he could get away with it.

"There's somethin' I gotta get in there."

"Like what?"

"Nah, yer askin' too many questions now," Goro retaliated. "How do you know that castle? Most of these dumb fucks I came across didn't know jack shit of what I was sayin'."

"That's because I got a personal connection with the owners of that family," Date revealed, taking another sip of his drink.

"What? How?"

"I'm good friends with someone who used to work for that family until that greedy bastard took his place," Date growled the last part. "The guy was exiled for no reason and I can't even blame the king for that. He didn't want to let him go but that weasel of a man got in there and wreaked havoc."

"Who's the guy?"

"Now you're the one asking too many questions," Date smirked back, using Goro's line against him. He scooted the bar stool closer to the latter, that nice looking face turning into a hardened scowl. "Listen, I can help you out with whatever you need if you promise to help me with something."

Goro leaned forward. "And what makes ya think I'm gonna help you?"

"Because I'm asking nicely?"

"Don't make me laugh ya old geezer. Even if I did agree, how do ya know that I'm gonna live up to that? I could easily fuck ya over if I wanted to."

"I got enough faith in you, especially since it looks like you live with the consequences of your actions," Date countered, pointing to his eyepatch. Goro flinched. "Plus, I got my sources to make sure it gets done. I think you might have met them before?"

Now that got Goro taken back. "Whaddya talkin' 'bout?"

"That eye of yours. I think I remember speaking to the Dragons of Dojima one time and they told me about a punk that tried to go against them and it cost him an eye. Sounds oddly familiar, wouldn't you say?"

FUCK fuck fuck FUCKING FUCK. Why was it that Goro attracted all the people who could fuck him over in just a mere second!? His scarred eyelid pulsated from the memory, hurting just like it did back then. There was only one real dragon in that group but that's all they needed. One look at him and they could burn if he willed it. They were some of the most terrifying beings on the planet and the run-in he had with them years ago still haunted him at night. His stupidity towards them was what led him to the situation in the first place and now, this prick was dangling a double edged sword in front of his face.

FUCK. Fuck!

"How do ya know those guys?" Goro asked, his voice pitching in ways that he wish he could shut it immediately.

"Ah, you'll find out eventually. But," Date shot his hand out towards Goro, a mischievous glint in his eye. "Do we got a deal?"

Goro wanted to say no. He wanted to punch the living fuck out of the guy and run out of the bar with no hesitation. He was done making deals, done with shady people who would only fuck him over when the time was right. No amount of reasons could make him justify teaming up with a guy who just stalked him to this bar.

But would Taiga take that risk for him? Sure as fuck he would; Taiga wasn't afraid of anything. In fact, he made fear fear itself, whether he wanted it or not.

So he had to push forward, for Taiga's sake.

"Deal," Goro agreed, squeezing Date's hand and giving it a firm shake. Though he didn't let go right away. "But just so ya know, I too got my sources. So don't try funny shit on me either."

Date tightened right back. "Don't worry, didn't cross my mind." He let go of Goro's hand, reached into his pocket to toss coins on the bar counter, and turned back to him. "Ready to go?"

Goro's eyebrows shot up. "Go where?"

"To get that information you need. We're taking a trip to see the Florist."


	4. The Informant

p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"strongemspan style="background-color: transparent; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; vertical-align: baseline;"span style="font-family: Arial;"span style="font-size: 14.6667px; white-space: pre-wrap;"he w wo wo so i had a lot planned to write for these notes but uh im in a lot of pain and kept forgetting to upload the chapter because of how sick ive been feeling so y E A. sorry about that. tbh a lot of this stuff kinda came unplanned (like with the florist and date and such) but! i promise that everything will make significantly more sense as the story progresses. it seems kinda weird and out of place but itll come together. i know my writing tools and while it wasn't planned in the beginning, doesnt mean that it wont fit into the overall scheme of things. however, ill be put front and honest, i didnt do much editing on this chapter, again i have been busy and sick and everything in life sucks. sorry. also, not that anyone has been reading this fic but ill put it here anyways: the next update for this fanfic will be March 17th. the reason for that is that, im working on some other fics but also, im trying to get something done for the month of February that will take up all my attention so itll be hard to keep update with this fic. the wait is longer but the chapter will be longer + Makoto will finally show up so i mean there y a go . i promise yall, this fic will start peaking soon, just give me a bit of time/span/span/span/em/strong/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="background-color: transparent; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; vertical-align: baseline;"span style="font-family: Arial;"span style="font-size: 14.6667px; white-space: pre-wrap;"-/span/span/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"If someone asked Goro about the Florist before this moment, he would have just assumed that they were referring to a guy who sells flowers for a living. /span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"strong id="docs-internal-guid-09850250-7fff-a8ac-398a-2300301c1394" style="font-weight: normal;" /strong/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Which, as he came to find out, wasn't far from the truth. The cop and thief duo walked into a flower shop off on the edge of the main strip in the city. They were met with all sorts of flowers, some in pots, some hung from the ceilings. Goro recognized a few of them instantly; some he used to woo a female, some he used to poison. Plus, the thing that stood out the most to him were the employees. One would expect workers of a flower shop to be sweet individuals with happy faces and contagious smiles. These guys were the opposite of that. Not only did they camouflage in the scenery but their eyes hid under the shadow of their caps. He could tell the beads in their eyes flared back at him, watching his every move cautiously. /span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"strong style="font-weight: normal;" /strong/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Maybe he should have told Taiga to come. What a fucking moron he was. /span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"strong style="font-weight: normal;" /strong/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Same deal with the bar, don't worry about these guys. They look tough but they won't hurt you. At least, not with me," Date comforted, though Goro didn't know if he should have felt relieved by that or more disturbed. The officer walked to the front and gave a hearty wave. "Hey, long time no see. How are you doing?" /span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"strong style="font-weight: normal;" /strong/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"The guy behind the counter didn't match the friendly attitude Date had. A permanent frown rested on his face. "What business do you have here?"/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"strong style="font-weight: normal;" /strong/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Oh c'mon, there's no need for the harsh attitude," Date nonchalantly responded, placing his hands on the counter. "I'm here to see the Florist." /span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"strong style="font-weight: normal;" /strong/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"The other guy kept staring toward Date, not making a movement until he pointed his head towards Goro. "Who's he?" /span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"strong style="font-weight: normal;" /strong/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Goro stood defensively, his hands balled into fists. Date just scoffed. "The Florist knows who he is. He specifically requested me to go get him." /span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"strong style="font-weight: normal;" /strong/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Huh? /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Huh? /span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"strong style="font-weight: normal;" /strong/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Hey, wait, what? What the fuck do ya mean?" Goro asked, nervousness scratching his voice. What the fuck was all of this!? He immediately pulled out his knife and gripped the handle, pointing towards Date. "What the fuck is this!?" Date didn't move. Goro moved closer. "Ya better explain yer self! NOW!" /span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"strong style="font-weight: normal;" /strong/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"But Date never got that chance for another young man, scrubby around the mouth with shaggy hair, came out of the curtains behind the cash wrap and looked straight at Goro. "Mr. Majima, the Florist is ready to see you." /span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"strong style="font-weight: normal;" /strong/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Goro didn't know what the hell was going on. Who the fuck were all these people!? What the hell did he agree to!? His legs geared up to run but Date was a step ahead of him and grabbed his arm, shaking him out of his flight response. "C'mon, let's go. Don't worry, nothing is going to happen. Promise that." Date reassured Goro. /span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"strong style="font-weight: normal;" /strong/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"He had to play along. For his survival. There was no other way. So he just nodded his head and followed the two behind the curtain. /span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"strong style="font-weight: normal;" /strong/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"If the flower shop was this dingy little place, then the hallway was completely opposite of that. Regal red carpet spread across the ground with fish tanks behaving as walls. A desk stood at the very end with guards holding up the front. Date and Goro moved towards them and they swiveled away to reveal a man sitting at the desk. He was a bigger kind of guy with only a yukata to cover his shoulders. There was nothing impressive about this guy, in fact he looked like someone's father that bummed around the house all day but clearly that wasn't the case with all the security around. He carried something of value that had to be hidden within the depths of a rundown flower shop. /span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"strong style="font-weight: normal;" /strong/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Hey, Florist," Date greeted, raising his hand to give a small wave. "Brought the guy over like you wanted." /span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"strong style="font-weight: normal;" /strong/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"The Florist looked up. Goro took a defensive step back. They had a small stare down when then the Florist signaled the guards to back off completely. Heads bent forward and they left the scene, only containing the three men. "That includes you too, Date." /span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"strong style="font-weight: normal;" /strong/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Ah, really? I thought I would have special privileges since I brought him over here. Besides," he took a glance at Goro and returned back to the Florist. "I don't think he'll spill too much without me here. He's kinda mistrusting and quiet." /span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"strong style="font-weight: normal;" /strong/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Don't worry, I know how to crack that. Besides, you have somewhere you need to be, right?" /span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"strong style="font-weight: normal;" /strong/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Date groaned. "Shit, you're right. Hopefully she won't get too upset with me." He patted Goro's shoulders. "Don't get too scared." And he left the hallway with only Goro and the Florist. /span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"strong style="font-weight: normal;" /strong/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Goro's hand waved over the hilt of his knife, prepping his stance for any form of physical attack that could come. The other guy didn't look he could much harm but the past taught judgements like that could lead to fatal mistakes so he stood his ground, ready for anything. /span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"strong style="font-weight: normal;" /strong/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Slowly, the Florist stood up and walked around the desk, hands clasped behind his back and head tilted up. Goro's eye traced his movement, waiting for any sort of attack. "Goro Majima, age 24, born to Ryuji and Haru Majima in a dingy medical center." All the air in Goro's lungs escaped. How did he know that? Not even Taiga knew that much about him. The Florist didn't acknowledge his expression and kept going. "Raised in poverty, you grew up on a farm and parents that didn't exactly love you. You managed to get around with selling goods from your parents' cultivation but that didn't stop them from wishing they were born with a different kind of son-"/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"strong style="font-weight: normal;" /strong/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""What the fuck-!?"/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"strong style="font-weight: normal;" /strong/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""So at 16, you ran away from home and met Taiga Saejima, who is currently your oath brother. Of course, you two were always the cause of trouble, especially given your run in with the Dragons of Dojima. But those are probably bad memories you don't want me to relive huh?" The Florist gave a look at Goro, who could only grind his teeth at the information he was spewing. "So now, under the Pearl Clan, you're taking orders from Tsukasa Sagawa and right now, you're on a mission to go get a jewel from that castle to set your oath brother free. Am I correct with all of that?"/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"strong style="font-weight: normal;" /strong/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Too correct. Too fucking correct. "Who the hell are you?" Goro growled out, his eye locking onto the Florist with a tenacious ferociousness. /span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"strong style="font-weight: normal;" /strong/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""It doesn't matter who I am, rather, what matters is what I know," he commented back, sitting once more at his desk and pulled out a crystalized ball with violet fumes swirling within. "You see, you can't hide anything from me nor can you pull my strings. I know all that." /span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"strong style="font-weight: normal;" /strong/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""What the hell do you want with me?"/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"strong style="font-weight: normal;" /strong/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Simple," the Florist's hands circled the globe and faded images danced inside. "Each person has their own set plan; most people refer to it as fate, if you will. There's something that we all have to do, whether we want to or not. I know how the rest of this story plays out but here's the thing: you don't. You don't even know where you're supposed to go."/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"strong style="font-weight: normal;" /strong/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""And what, you do?"/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"strong style="font-weight: normal;" /strong/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Like Officer Date, I know the family and the Dragons of Dojima and someone infiltrated that family and caused havoc. I can tell you all you need to know on how to get to the castle and the secret passageways in exchange for a small favor."/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"strong style="font-weight: normal;" /strong/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Goro's eye squinted. "What kind of favor?"/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"strong style="font-weight: normal;" /strong/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""When the time comes, I need you to kill the man who wrecked the family."/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"strong style="font-weight: normal;" /strong/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"He gave out a scoff. "Doesn't your crystal ball of shit tell ya all ya need to know? Why're ya askin' me?"/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"strong style="font-weight: normal;" /strong/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Florist sighed. "It is true that I could look in my ball but there are limitations. This journey you're about to take on is a long one. One with enough twists and turns that it is already hard to track, let alone know how long it will take. I can only see up to a certain point, the rest is a mystery. Plus, while everyone has a set path, sometimes people will change that in the very last minute. It's a very rare occurrence but it has happened."/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"strong style="font-weight: normal;" /strong/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""So yer sayin' you have no idea if I'll do it or not so ya need me to promise I'll do it?"/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"strong style="font-weight: normal;" /strong/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""In the simplest of terms, yes."/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"strong style="font-weight: normal;" /strong/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""What's so important 'bout that guy anyways that he needs to die?" Goro asked, curiosity building on the harsh nature of this request. /span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"strong style="font-weight: normal;" /strong/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"The Florist stood up again and walked back around the desk once more. "It's not that simple to explain and I fear that it might mess up the timeline." He moved to be right in front of Goro and he could easily see the pain that reflected off his face. This guy must have done more damage than he was thinking. "Assuming the timeline goes as planned, you'll find out piece by piece what he did. You may think the dragon lurking in the castle is a monster but this guy has more violent colors that one could imagine." His eyes looked up at Goro's and he could see the determined glint that sparked in. "I'll tell you the ways of the castle if you do this for me when the time comes. It would be in your best interest to take it."/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"strong style="font-weight: normal;" /strong/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Haw? And what kind of reason do ya got for that?"/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"strong style="font-weight: normal;" /strong/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Given what I saw," The Florist stopped for a moment and looked back at his ball before returing back to Goro. "Doing this might guarantee your freedom as well as your brother's." /span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"strong style="font-weight: normal;" /strong/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Now things were turning interesting. "And how do ya know that when ya can't see that far into the future?"/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"strong style="font-weight: normal;" /strong/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Florist's shoulders shrugged. "To be honest, I don't. But given what I saw at some point in your journey….well, that assumption seems likely to be the case." /span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"strong style="font-weight: normal;" /strong/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. If this mission didn't already become complicated, then this piled onto it even more. When he accepted this, never would the idea of needing to get into some assasination scheme crossed his mind. Or rather, death did come up but it would have been either his or the dragon's death or maybe anyone who prevented him from getting that jewel. Now he was tied into some kind of scheme, purely because of the association that the fucking piece of rock had. Fuck, if he had any idea that this would have happened, he would told Sagawa to shove that rock right up his tight ass and move along. /span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"strong style="font-weight: normal;" /strong/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"But it didn't matter what happened in hindsight. He had to deal with this now. He was left with either taking this deal that literally had no set guidelines or he could starve out in the frigid cold trying to find it. /span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"strong style="font-weight: normal;" /strong/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"So of course, he went with the most logical. /span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"strong style="font-weight: normal;" /strong/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Alright, I'll do it. But," Goro's finger drilled into the shoulder of the other man, his face filled with animosity. "Ya better make sure that source ya got won't fuck me over. Or else, it's yer head Imma go after. Understand?"/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"strong style="font-weight: normal;" /strong/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"All the Florist could do was smile as he brushed off Goro's hand. "Don't worry, I run an honest business. Would ruin my reputation if my head was rolling on the ground." He gave out a chuckle before moving past Goro and walking to the entrance of the hall. "Come with me. One of my men will come with you but we need to prepare you first." /span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" /p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"No words came out of Goro's mouth and he was thankful that non did for things could take a sharper turn for the worse if it did. So he shut out any last thoughts and followed the Florist, hoping that his sudden interest in trust would backfire immediately. /span/p 


	5. The Separation

_**oh boi, remember when i said back in march that it would be high time for makoto to finally show up ? yea i lied. not really intentionally tho,,,,i just,,,ok the section where they would meet was getting very long and didn't match nor flowed very well so i decided to separate it. so next update, makoto will definitely be there. heck heck,,,,so hopefully June2nd ill have the update ready,,,its not that i don't have things written, it's that i stink at connecting pieces kuku and ive been writing other majimako fanfic,,,,to make up for it, in a few days, ill post another majimako fanfic,,,so gomen gomen**_

"How much further do we got?"

"Just a few more yards."

"How do I know yer not just shittin' me?"

"Well you don't. But you can at least be comforted by the fact that I'm a vegetarian."

"That makes me feel eons better."

"You're mighty welcome!"

Goro rolled his eye so hard that it could have come out of his socket if this were a cartoon. Since the moment he finished his private conversation with the Florist days ago, everything turned into a haze. Without hesitation, the Florist brought forth this individual to accompany Goro to the castle. He seemed against it at first, whispering into his boss' ear while giving fearful glances to the other man but the latter just shushed him. The Florist explained that this was an important duty that had to be done. Looks exchanged between them and the scared man backed down. It looked like the Florist had the final say in everything and that was going to be the end of discussion. Goro couldn't say he was pleased with the outcome but then again, nothing about this whole situation seemed to be pleasurable. If he could go back in time and slap the living shit out of his past self for thinking that this was a good idea, he would.

Regardless, after the Florist gave him lasting tips and a couple of items that Goro would need to tame the castle, they set off onto their adventure to the elusive palace. They traveled for days, camping out in hidden corners of towns and masking themselves among the shadows. Goro was left to figure out food situations while the other scavenged for information. Of course, whenever he asked his partner a question, he would get missing pieces. Clearly, there was more to this than he originally anticipated but he couldn't focus on that. His mind had to fixate on the palace and that was that.

Eventually, after having to hear idiotic remarks coming from the Florist's man, they arrived to the scene where Goro's true challenge would begin.

The castle was placed onto a separate piece of land that shot up through the ocean, creating a high ceiling moat around it. Only a bridge connected the main continent with this patch that seemed like a little speck in the distance. But there was no mistaking that they arrived in the right place. The air became frigid and despite having Taiga's jacket covering his arms, he could feel goosebumps appearing on his skin. Teeth chattered with the need to bundle into oneself. Goro walked closer to the bridge and he could frost forming around the tips of the ropes and planks. In the distance, the castle shined and sparkled, already giving a clear sign that ice surrounded its walls.

"We're here. Kinda beautiful if you don't think about the things inside of it, huh?" His partner spoke from behind, arms crossed to retain heat.

Goro followed suit. "Yea, I guess," he muttered under his breath. It still baffled him that a castle in the middle of nowhere like this ate up the contents of individuals to protect a secret treasure that was only seen by a family that probably had money coming from their ass. The castle showed that they had no need for this elusive gem but made sure no one could have it for themselves. Typical rich pricks. Goro couldn't wait to get his hands on it so he could metaphorically spit on their faces. Not that would affect them in any way but at least he would have that slight satisfaction inside him while seeing Taiga roaming free without invisible chains.

But that wasn't going to happen until he crossed this bridge and got that rock.

Adjusting his knife straps to ensure security, Goro took steps forward and placed a foot on the bridge when he noticed something. "Hey, aren't ya gonna come?" He turned towards his partner who stood completely still.

The other man shook his head. "Nope. Got strict orders from the Florist to only accompany you to the bridge and that's it. Plus, even if I was given freedom to go across, I wouldn't want to. Don't do too well in the cold," he joked around, giving an exaggerated shiver. "But I trust you'll do well! Good luck out there!"

Goro clicked his tongue in response and continued forward, mentally raising his middle finger towards that care free nutcase. Whatever, he couldn't be bothered by it. No time to dwell on that. He didn't need that guy.

Goro was going to face the dragon, once and for all. And damn sure he was going to get that gem.


End file.
